For Andrea Potter, busy 12-hour shifts as a line cook at Feenie’s led to erratic eating and, eventually, to trouble.

“I was a sugar addict. I’d wait until I got really tired and have a sugar binge,” she says. “I was hypoglycemic from eating too much processed sugar at unpredictable times. I suffered a minor health collapse.”

And for that, she’s now grateful because five years later, her life and health are totally turned around. In the restaurant industry, she saw others like her old self. “I saw a lot of burnout, mood disorders, adrenal fatigue, blood sugar issues and sometimes weight problems,” she says.

She now runs Rooted Nutrition (www.rootednutrition.wordpress.com) and is a holistic nutrition consultant and teaches holistic cooking classes. (She was the chef at Radha Yoga and Eatery until last year.)

Her cooking classes boycott processed white sugar. Her only use for it is for making kombucha, a fermented health beverage where fermentation turns sugar into organic acids and pro-biotic bacterias. “You don’t get the negative effects and kombucha helps the immune system and digestion,” Potter says.

Her recent travels through China were a reminder of how other cuisines balance flavours of sweet and sour and bitter and salty through a meal. “Our meals are super salty and heavily meaty and really sweet at the end. If the dishes were more balanced, we wouldn’t crave sugar at the end,” she says. “I try to add natural sweetness in every course through root vegetables, like beets, and grains. I like fruit, especially dried fruits for the concentrated sweetness. I’ll serve apricot chutney with mushroom strudel or apple sauce with a pork chop.”

At Radha restaurant, a vegan restaurant with a wine list, chef Robert Wilson-Smith — who trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute in N.Y. city — says it makes more sense to eat denser, fibrous foods at the end of a meal and desserts at the beginning. Desserts can digest and burn off first and fast, but if their digestion is slowed by meats and starches they will ferment, resulting in reflux, gas or belches. Besides, he says, a craving for sweetness at the end of a meal could be a symptom of withdrawal from too much highly refined white sugar, or of a dietary deficiency.

For sweeteners in desserts or savoury foods, both Potter and Wilson-Smith use healthier alternatives to the super-refined, nutrient-empty white sugar. They’ll turn to alternatives such as coconut sugar, molasses, maple syrup, sucunat (short for sucre de canne naturel, or cane sugar without the molasses stripped away), fresh and dried fruits and agave nectar (from the agave plant). Potter uses honey, but Wilson-Smith doesn’t, sticking to vegan principles. He does, however, use jaggery, an unrefined cane sugar with minerals and vitamins still present.

“There’s been press about it damaging the liver over long-term use so it’s not viewed as the magic pill. Some companies started cutting it with corn syrup so people lost their trust,” Potter says of agave. She does, however, use it along with other whole food sweeteners.

Stevia (powdered or leaf), another natural sweetener, has a bitter edge so she’ll use it in combination with another sweetener. She’s also a big fan of coconut sugar. “It’s low-glycemic, has a rich flavour and it’s not nutrient-depleted.” Asian stores would likely carry it, while she gets hers at Organic Lives (on Quebec Street). As for the higher cost of processed sugar alternatives, she says: “You’re buying real food, not nutrient-deprived white sugar, which robs, not adds. White sugar is cheap and plentiful and it doesn’t have much flavour so you can put it in anything. It’s instant gratification.”

Sucunat, she says, can be used much like refined white sugar but has a molasses flavour. And when she uses molasses, she’ll combine it with another sweetener. As for maple syrup, she says “the darker it is, the more minerals it has.”

Wilson-Smith is a big fan of dates.

“It’s a whole food with fibre and minerals and when it’s puréed, it’s thick and helps to emulsify and solidify.”

She’s mindful of the days before cane sugar was so readily available and when sweetness was derived from berries and roots. “So many generations have forgotten how to cook and bake with alternatives,” she says.

A characteristic of processed white sugar is its hydrophilic property, or its ability to hold moisture. “If you’re using substitutes, you might have to add moisture with fruit juices,” she says, adding she’s particularly fond of pear juice. “I’ll use pear juice in barbecue sauce instead of sugar.”“Be open-minded,” says Wilson-Smith. “Don’t be stuck on having the same results [as conventional European baking]. Expect the results to be crunchier, browner, and to have a more broad sweetness rather than a sharp sweetness. Get away from what it has to look like.”

His vegan dessert pies, for instance, are made with nut crusts, held together by the sweetness and a “mortar” of dates instead of pastry.

Potter hasn’t had much luck with alternative recipes online, she says. “A lot don’t work and I get really upset because it’s expensive.” Instead, she recommends a dependable cookbook like Wholefood by Jude Blereau.

Or, should you be interested in making lemon bars or berry sorbet or hemp crème anglais with ice cream or raw chocolate mousse or almond bliss balls the Andrea Potter way, you could join her next alternative dessert class at Radha Yoga and Eatery (728 Main St.) on March 27.

mstainsby@vancouversun.com

Blog:vancouversun.com/miastainsby

Twitter.com/miastainsby

Andrea Potter’s Roasted Squash Muffins

You can add pumpkin or sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, raisins or dried cranberries to this recipe.

In a separate bowl, combine and whisk oil, pumpkin purée, milk, molasses, egg and sugar. Fold in any extras you want to add.

Spoon batter into 8 greased muffin tins (or line with cupcake papers). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove muffins from tin as soon as they are cool enough to do so to keep them from getting soggy bottoms.

Makes 8 muffins.

Making pumpkin or squash purée:

Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds (wash and roast for later snack). Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place squash cut side down on it. Roast in 350 F oven. Time varies depending on size and density of squash. Check after 45 minutes with fork.

Crust: Soak nuts or seeds for at least 30 minutes. Drain, rinse and place in food processor with fruit.

Pulse until the mixture is crumbly textured (but not pasty) and holds together when pinched. Press crust into the bottom of spring form pan evenly. You can build up the sides.

Filling: Drain and rinse the cashews. In blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except for coconut oil. Blend until smooth. Slowly add coconut oil as it blends. Once mixture is smooth, pour onto crust. Refrigerate or freeze until set, about 2 hours.

Serve cold. Run a paring knife around the outside of the cake to release it from the spring form pan. The tart freezes well. To serve, thaw in fridge for a few hours. Serve with raw berry coulis.

Makes 8 servings.

Radha’s Raw Apple Pie

Filling:

1 ½ cups (375 mL) dates immersed and soaked in water for 3 hours

Juice from ½ lemon

¼ teaspoon (1 mL) ginger powder

¼ teaspoon (1 mL) cardamom powder

1 ½ teaspoon (7 mL) cinnamon powder

1/8 (. 5 mL) teaspoon nutmeg powder

2 teaspoons (10 mL) vanilla powder

Pinch of salt and pepper

5 Granny Smith apples, approximately

Zest of ½ lemon

Crust:

1 ½ cups (375 mL) almonds, soaked overnight

1 tablespoon (15 mL) coconut oil

1 tablespoon (15 mL) date spice purée (from the filling, above)

Filling: Add all filling ingredients, except for the apples and lemon zest, in blender and blend until smooth. Set aside in a large mixing bowl. Save 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of mixture for the crust.

In a food processor, pulse the almonds for the crust until coarse ground flour. Set aside in a small mixing bowl. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and mix thoroughly by hand. Press firmly into a pie pan and let sit at room temperature (to dry a bit) for a few hours.

Peel and thinly slice the apples on a mandolin. Add lemon zest to date purée and toss apples in the mixture, coat well.

Arrange apples evenly on crust, layer by layer until apples run out. Refrigerate to set.

Serve with Vanilla Coconut Cashew Creme

Vanilla Coconut Cashew Crème

1 cup (250 mL) cashews soaked in water, 4 hours or more

1/4 cup (60 mL) dates, soaked in water for 3 hours or more

1/3 cup (68 mL) shredded coconut

1 tablespoon (15 mL) coconut oil

2 teaspoons (5 mL) vanilla powder (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

¼ (1 mL) teaspoon salt

½ cup (125 mL) water

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate to set.

Serve with Raw Apple Pie.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Radha’s Rice Kheer

“This is a yummy vegan version of an all-time favourite, specially if you can make it with jaggery, which has a lower glycemic index than refined sugars. It can be purchased at the Punjabi Market (Main Street) or El Sureno (Commercial Drive). In Central American stores, it is called piloncillo.” — Robert Wilson-Smith

1 cup (250 mL) rice (short grain brown, basmati or arborio)

2 1/2 cups (625 mL) water

1 cinnamon stick

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) almond milk (see recipe below)

1/2 cup (125 mL) jaggery (in pinch, can use brown sugar)

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground cardamom

Pinch nutmeg

Cashews and raisins for garnish

Combine rice and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, cover and cook on a low heat until rice is well done.

Add the cinnamon stick, almond milk and crumble-in the jaggery until it breaks down and mixes in. Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Adjust thickness with more almond milk if necessary.

Turn off heat and sprinkle with cardamom powder and nutmeg.

Pour into individual ramikens, and garnish with raisins and cashews.

Almond Milk

1 cup (250 mL) raw almonds

3 cups (750 mL) water

1 teaspoon agave syrup

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Soak the almonds for six hours or overnight.

Rinse THOROUGHLY.

Combine the soaked and rinsed almonds and water in a blender at high-speed; process until smooth.

Add agave and coconut oil at the end.

Strain through a fine-meshed strainer or several layers of moistened cheesecloth.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.